Chapter Twenty Two
The phone rang. Aubreycurled around the pillow, clutching it to her chest, and stared at her cell on the nightstand. She tried to shut off the phone earlier, but had turned it back on because as long as Serge was calling her, she hadn't lost him.
She'd left against his wishes, not because she was mad at him. Not because she wanted him to change. Not because she wanted to teach him a lesson. She'd left because she wanted to see if he'd come and get her.
It was stupid and mean, yet each phone call validated that he wanted her. Never in her life had she felt the need to test anyone's feelings about her.
Serge was it for her, and that's why she needed to believe—really believe that he had feelings for her.
If he wanted to call her immature, then fine. She was twenty-four years old and had never had a relationship as intense as the one with Serge.
He wasn't one to talk about his feelings. He never told her he was falling in love with her. He never spoke of marriage. He never dreamed about a future with her. How many times had he reminded her that he never planned for a tomorrow?
His vocabulary revolved around threats and force.
She needed more.
She wanted to hear that he loved her and would never leave her.
The only way she was going to know he needed her as much as she needed him was if he chased her and took her back to his house.
The ringing stopped. She flung back the blanket and sat on the edge of the bed. Even though her employees could prepare the shelter each day and open the doors without her, there was no reason for her not to go in and work. Serge would also be working during the day. They both had things they needed to do separately.
During the day, she'd prepare to face Serge tonight and discuss their future. Hopefully, her determination to come home, clean, and organize her life, despite him telling her to stay at his house, would also give him time to think about things from her perspective.
Maybe he'd open up more and express his feelings. She wasn't asking for much, but she'd like to know if love was involved in his side of the relationship.
She stepped straight into the shower, went through her morning routine, and a half hour later, walked out her front door and got in the car. If she got lucky, the puffiness around her eyes from crying most of the night would go down, and nobody would notice or question her.
Fifteen minutes later, she walked into the shelter and found Jerome mopping the entrance to the gym. A natural smile came to her. For someone who had walked in off the street and asked for a job, he had become a hard worker and was polite to everyone who walked through the doors.
"Mornin', Miss Haydon." Jerome set the mop in the bucket.
"I keep telling you to call me Aubrey." She pointed at the floor. "The place looks great."
"Nothing a little scrubbing can't do." Jerome grinned. "There's a message for you in the office."
"Great. Thanks." She headed to the office, peeking into the gym on her way.
David and Kenneth set up cots. For the first time in hours, her shoulders relaxed, and she felt like she could breathe.
Inside the office, she checked her desk and found a note. The food bank had extra produce. They needed to unload before it spoiled. She sat down and made the call, gladly taking the extras.
Greg walked into the office. She glanced up and smiled, knowing he had a truck. "You're just the person I needed."
"What can I do for you?"
She scribbled the address for the food bank across town on a piece of paper and handed it to him. "I need you to pick up the boxes of food set aside for the shelter. You might want to see if Kenneth wants to go with you and help. If you don't mind. You can take gas money out of the petty cash."
"No problem." Greg slipped the note in his pocket. "I'll be back within the hour."
"No rush." She looked at her cell phone screen to make sure Serge hadn't called and bit her lip.
He hadn't tried calling for over an hour. Not since before she'd left for work.
The ache in the pit of her stomach grew. She turned on the computer and busied herself with taking inventory. All orders needed to be placed by eight o'clock tonight. She assessed the supplies they had on hand and made the order. The total would consume almost all the money she had allotted for the week. Soon, she'd run out of funds and have to close the shelter if she failed to come up with more.
